Just returned from Cuba on NCL Sky - great trip

I'll get into a more in depth review later on, and I did save the daily schedules for each day that I hope to scan and post (I had a hard time finding these pre-trip), but just wanted to say that the whole trip was excellent. Cuba is fantastic and exceeded my expectations. It is place people that appreciate travel, culture, and meeting new people should want to see if they have the opportunity.

The Sky itself is a nice mid-sized ship that does not show its age and NCL runs a nice cruise. Some things I liked better than others about the ship and do have a suggestion or two, but overall this trip was a big hit, I am glad I had the opportunity to go, and I would not hesitate to suggest the NCL Sky to others wanting to do this trip.

Over the next few days I'll make more posts about our experiences but please feel free to ask questions and I will be happy to answer.

Appreciate the feedback, looking forward to the details.:)

We are taking the same cruise in April so looking forward to reading your review. NCL still has no excursions listed for Havana?

Glad you enjoyed your Cuba cruise!

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Welcome home. I look forward to the additional details.

Keith

We are taking the same cruise in April so looking forward to reading your review. NCL still has no excursions listed for Havana?

NCL did have some listed excursions including classic car tours, cigar factory tours, and trips to various hotels at night for dinner shows. We did not arrange any tours through NCL as the prices were pretty outrageous. Once we went through customs in Cuba we could come and go as we pleased and at prices significantly less than excursion prices. On comparing prices and experiences with others we got to experience much more of the sites at lower cost.

We did book our trip prior to June, but no one ever asked us for an itinerary, plans, to see dates we had booked anything, we were more or less free to come and go as we wanted. We kept a log of what we did in case we are ever asked for it for compliance reasons.

We are also going on a cruise there aboard the Sun in May so will be interested in reading of your experience in Cuba

Looking forward to hearing more details and especially seeing the Dailies. We are going to Cuba on the Sun in Oct. and are happy to have this possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the country. I've heard nothing bur positive things about visiting Cuba.

I guess I should start this review with a note. I made my original booking prior to June of 2017. As such I was grandfathered into US Gov't rules on what activities I would be required to participate in while in Cuba. Further changes made by US Gov't in November 2017 have made access for Americans to Cuba a bit more difficult with additional strings attached.

Please check up to date regulations, cruise line directives and regulations, etc. if considering to visit Cuba in the future. Your experience or opportunities may vary from mine. I am not an expert in any of this but will be trying to provide helpful context and answer questions anyone has.

As noted, I made this booking prior to June 2017 for the 12/11/17 cruise to Havana. My TA had it advertised for $200 less per person than Norwegian did, and compared to other weeks, had the most generous port time in Cuba. This also worked well for my fathers birthday so I booked him too.

We purchased visas through NCL via our agent at time of booking, $75 per. We arrange 3rd party insurance through insuremytrip.com That site makes it easy to compare policies and select the right coverage for your needs, usually with coverage exceeding what is offered by cruise lines and at a lower cost.

With taxes, visa, a 4 night interior cabin on the NCL Sky, with full ship open bar (not the Ultimate Beverage Package, Open Bar is unique to the Sky) rang up at an eye watering $1700. A TravelSafe comprehensive insurance package added about another $150. I did have $75 OBC, so that's pretty sweet, right?

Right after final payment date there was a massive price drop. In fact the only price drop I had seen since booking in May. I called my TA to see what my options were and I was able to upgrade to an Oceanview room and received, somehow, an additional $50 OBC. The significantly lower price remained advertised for a little while and did sting a bit, but as the cruise got nearer prices came back up and I was happy with the Oceanview and overall value. Still, that is a lot of money for a 4 day cruise in relatively basic accommodations. You are paying for Cuba, period.

Yes, the itineraries vary on time in port. Our time in port was Day 2 of the cruise from approximately 8AM until Day 3 of the cruise departing at 2PM (all aboard 1:30PM), so let's call it 30 hours of port time. Personally: After my experience I would not consider booking a Havana itinerary that was a single 10-12 hour day like seems to be the case on so many other lines coming for 2018.

In fact, in 2018 most of the Sky itineraries depart Cuba on day 2 at 6AM. I don't know why. I feel lucky to have had an itinerary that stayed until 2PM.

For those looking for a good amount of port time at a very fair price look for the Majesty of the Seas 5 nighters from Fort Lauderdale in 2019. I am seeing them advertised from $300 per person and approximately 28 hours of port time.

Norwegian will begin operating a second ship, the Sun, sistership to the Sky, in 2018 as well but it departs at 6AM on the 2nd day from Havana, so no, it isn't two days in Havana.

Carnival departs at 2AM.

Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas is even more dire with a 7AM - 4/5PM single day stop on short cruises, and a decent 32 hours of port time on a 6 day cruise, but there are two sea days, which are wasteful and would have been better spent in port. For a cruise priced like 7 nights in a balcony on Oasis. Just a frame of reference.

If you are in the market for a 4-5 day cruise to see Havana definitely shop closely, port time definitely matters significantly for this itinerary. I would first and foremost look for whatever itinerary is giving you maximum usable time in the city, and there is not going to be much of anything happening before 9:30AM.

Booked on the Sky in May and am looking forward to seeing the daily schedules and reading more of your experience in Havana. :)

Thanks for the review. You were grandfathered under the old rules, but, did you see others being more restricted?

Have you seen the post by Gamble on this forum ?

He also cruised to Cuba on NCL Sky.

His photos and review are exceptional.

Thanks for the review. You were grandfathered under the old rules, but, did you see others being more restricted?

I think we were on the same sailing as the OP. We booked after the changes in rules and had absolutely no restrictions. If you are interested, my review is on my blog (https://travelswithheather.com/blog/).

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I'll get into a more in depth review later on, and I did save the daily schedules for each day that I hope to scan and post (I had a hard time finding these pre-trip), but just wanted to say that the whole trip was excellent. Cuba is fantastic and exceeded my expectations. It is place people that appreciate travel, culture, and meeting new people should want to see if they have the opportunity.

 

The Sky itself is a nice mid-sized ship that does not show its age and NCL runs a nice cruise. Some things I liked better than others about the ship and do have a suggestion or two, but overall this trip was a big hit, I am glad I had the opportunity to go, and I would not hesitate to suggest the NCL Sky to others wanting to do this trip.

 

Over the next few days I'll make more posts about our experiences but please feel free to ask questions and I will be happy to answer.

Thanks for posting your trip.

Wondering why just a port call in Havana only?

Also, with the overnight stay in port, did you experience the night life in Havana? What kind nightlife do you recommend?

Is prostitution legal? Streetwalkers or in brothels?

Did you walk around on your own at night?

At night, any concerns with personal safety?

I'll get into a more in depth review later on, and I did save the daily schedules for each day that I hope to scan and post (I had a hard time finding these pre-trip), but just wanted to say that the whole trip was excellent. Cuba is fantastic and exceeded my expectations. It is place people that appreciate travel, culture, and meeting new people should want to see if they have the opportunity.

 

The Sky itself is a nice mid-sized ship that does not show its age and NCL runs a nice cruise. Some things I liked better than others about the ship and do have a suggestion or two, but overall this trip was a big hit, I am glad I had the opportunity to go, and I would not hesitate to suggest the NCL Sky to others wanting to do this trip.

 

Over the next few days I'll make more posts about our experiences but please feel free to ask questions and I will be happy to answer.

Looking forward to more on this cruise as well as the dailys

Awesome! Glad you had a great trip. I love the Sky.